To Nature 11 February [1874]
Summary
Prefaces Fritz Müller’s observations on termites and stingless bees [see 9281].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 11 Feb [1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 19 February 1874, pp. 308–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9283 |
To Nature 6 April [1874]
Summary
Comments on J. T. Moggridge’s article on the fertilisation of Fumaria capreolata [Nature 9 (1874): 423].
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 6 Apr [1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 16 April 1874, p. 460 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9393 |
To Nature 18 April [1874]
Summary
CD has observed hundreds of primrose flowers cut off their stalks, and conjectures that this was done by birds to obtain the nectar. Asks readers of Nature in England and abroad whether primroses are subject to such destruction in their localities.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 18 Apr [1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 23 April 1874, p. 482 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9418 |
From W. T. Thiselton Dyer to Nature [23–30 April 1874]
Summary
Cancelled: third-party letter.
| Author: | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [23-30 Apr 1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 30 April 1874, p. 509 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9424F |
From J. H. Gladstone to Nature [23–30 April 1874]
Summary
Cancel: third-party letter.
| Author: | John Hall Gladstone |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [23-30 Apr 1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 30 April 1874, p. 509 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9425F |
From H. C. Key to Nature [23–30 April 1874]
Summary
Cancelled: third-party letter from H. C. Key.
| Author: | Henry Cooper Key |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [23-30 Apr 1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 30 April 1874, p. 509 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9425G |
From G. M. Seabroke to Nature [23–30 April 1874]
Summary
Cancelled: third-party letter from G. M. Seabrook.
| Author: | George Mitchell Seabroke |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [23-30 Apr 1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 30 April 1874, p. 509 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9425H |
From T. R. Stebbing to Nature [23–30 April 1874]
Summary
Cancelled: third-party letter.
| Author: | Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | [23-30 Apr 1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 30 April 1874, p. 509 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9425I |
To Nature 7 and 11 May [1874]
Summary
Thanks Nature correspondents for their observations on destruction of primroses [Nature 9 (1874): 509; 10 (1874): 6–7]. Reports an error in his observations: ovules, as well as nectar, are taken by the birds. As the habit of cutting off primrose flowers is widespread, CD concludes it is instinctive in bullfinches.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Nature |
| Date: | 7 and 11 May [1874] |
| Classmark: | Nature, 14 May 1874, pp. 24–5 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9444 |
| letter | (9) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (4) |
| Gladstone, J. H. | (1) |
| Key, H. C. | (1) |
| Seabroke, G. M. | (1) |
| Stebbing, T. R. R. | (1) |
| Nature | (9) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (4) |
| Gladstone, J. H. | (1) |
| Key, H. C. | (1) |
| Seabroke, G. M. | (1) |
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 24 hits
- … The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the …
- … intervals’ ( letter to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August 1874] ). The death of a Cambridge friend, …
- … and collecting beetles ( letter from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to …
- … much more than forwards’ ( letter to W. D. Fox, 11 May [1874] ). I feel very old & …
- … old & helpless’ ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor …
- … on the matter ( letter from Ernst Haeckel, 26 October 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and …
- … Joseph Dalton Hooker ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 18 January [1874] ). Later in the month, …
- … and an imposter’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 27 January 1874 ). Darwin agreed that it was ‘all …
- … perform his antics’ ( letter to T. H. Huxley, 29 January [1874] ). This did not stop word getting …
- … at his home ( letter from T. G. Appleton, 2 April 1874 ). Back over old ground New …
- … Charles Lyell ( letter to Smith, Elder & Co., 8 January 1874 , letter to J. D. Hooker, 8 …
- … of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). The book came out in June with the …
- … Darwin on this point ( letter from J. D. Dana, 21 July 1874 ); however, he did not retract his …
- … dog breeders (letters from George Cupples, 21 February 1874 and 12 March 1874 ); the material …
- … Islands (Hawaii; letters from T. N. Staley, 12 February 1874 and 20 February 1874 ; letters …
- … islanders ( letter from William Dealtry, 16 January 1874 ). One of the most significant …
- … enemy into a jelly’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 14 April 1874 ). The technical nature of Huxley’s …
- … mind where it goes’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 16 April 1874 ). The second edition of …
- … a source of inspiration. In April, he wrote a letter to Nature, observing that the flowers of …
- … primroses were abundant in each district ( letter to Nature , 18 April [1874] ). He …
- … M. Story-Maskelyne, 4 May 1874 ). In a second letter to Nature , Darwin summarised the …
- … blindfolded from the moment of being hatched ( letter to Nature , 7 and 11 May [1874] ; …
- … with the contraction of Dionaea leaves in Nature (Burdon Sanderson 1874). Hooker also …
- … ). He featured in the scientific worthies series in Nature ( letter to J. N. Lockyer, 13 May …
St George Jackson Mivart
Summary
In the second half of 1874, Darwin’s peace was disturbed by an anonymous article in the Quarterly Review suggesting that his son George was opposed to the institution of marriage and in favour of ‘unrestrained licentiousness’. Darwin suspected, correctly,…
Matches: 17 hits
- … In 1874, the Catholic zoologist St George Jackson Mivart caused Darwin and his son …
- … appeared to have created very little stir, until, in July 1874, Mivart published an anonymous review …
- … of the Quarterly ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 29 July 1874 ). Darwin hastily advised against …
- … to wish to circulate ( letter to G. H. Darwin, 1 August [1874] ). Darwin provided a draft of the …
- … to endorse them ( letter from G. H. Darwin, 5 August 1874 ). He sent a second draft, which Darwin …
- … a fair copy of his letter with his letter of 6 [August] 1874 . George and Darwin were also …
- … George’s letter to Murray with his letter of 11 August 1874 , and was no doubt relieved to …
- … to all he asked ( letter from John Murray, 12 August 1874 ). In October, George’s letter …
- … was given to them on account of their extraordinary nature and barbarity. Secondly , he …
- … a Pickwickian sense’ ( letter to John Murray, 18 October 1874 ). In other words, Mivart had used …
- … reaction was savage ( letter to G. H. Darwin, [6 December 1874] ). Hooker and Huxley between them …
- … the attack on George ( letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 December 1874 ). Huxley met Mivart at an evening …
- … ( Enclosure to letter from J. D. Hooker, 21 December 1874 .) A reply soon came from Mivart . …
- … of a gentleman’ ( letter from T. H. Huxley, 23 December 1874 ). However, Huxley still wrote to …
- … this. 124 Gower St W.C. Dec. 24th 1874. Private & Confidential …
- … to John Tyndall ( letter from John Tyndall, 28 December 1874 , and letter from J. D. Hooker, 29 …
- … 16 January 1875, p. 66, signed, ‘The Quarterly Reviewer of 1874’. In it he reiterated his claim that …
Joseph Simms
Summary
The American doctor and author of works on physiognomy Joseph Simms wrote to Darwin on 14 September 1874, while he was staying in London. He enclosed a copy of his book Nature’s revelations of character (Simms 1873). He hoped it might 'prove…
Matches: 5 hits
- … physiognomy Joseph Simms wrote to Darwin on 14 September 1874 , while he was staying in London. …
- … stockings. (Letter from Joseph Simms, 14 September 1874 ) The foot could tell …
- … feet high, of splendid proportions, and fittingly endowed by nature for the arduous physical and …
- … London: John Murray. Simms, Joseph. 1873. Nature’s revelations of character, or, the mental …
- … Simms, Joseph. 1891. Physiognomy illustrated; or, Nature's revelations of character. A …
Moral Nature
Summary
In Descent of Man, Darwin argued that human morality had evolved from the social instincts of animals, especially the bonds of sympathy and love. Darwin gathered observations over many decades on animal behavior: the heroic sacrifices of social insects,…
Essay: What is Darwinism?
Summary
—by Asa Gray WHAT IS DARWINISM? The Nation, May 28, 1874 The question which Dr. Hodge asks he promptly and decisively answers: ‘What is Darwinism? it is atheism.’ Leaving aside all subsidiary and incidental matters, let us consider–1. What the…
Matches: 14 hits
- … Gray WHAT IS DARWINISM? The Nation, May 28, 1874 The question which Dr. Hodge …
- … does not speculate on the origin of the universe, on the nature of matter or of force. He is simply …
- … struggle, extinction–in short, all that is going on in Nature; that the variations which in this …
- … but the far past with the present in one coherent system of Nature. But in assigning actual natural …
- … ‘ purpose, intention, or the cooperation of God ’ in Nature. This would be as gratuitous as …
- … retain a probable excess of supernaturalism in that realm of Nature, they cut away the grounds for …
- … unphilosophical “ to think or speak as if the forces of Nature were either independent of or even …
- … should produce such results as these contrivances in Nature, he is told that this banishes God from …
- … system. Interference with a divinely ordained physical Nature for the accomplishment of natural …
- … are to be referred all the manifestations of design in Nature, and the ordering of events in …
- … and fast line between causation in organic and inorganic Nature, seems to look for no manifestation …
- … and the right way, of ‘ accounting for contrivances in Nature; the other two being–1. Their …
- … in any age or country, the God who seems to be revealed by Nature seems also different from the God …
- … a tendency toward a more, not a less, Scriptural view of Nature. ‘ Of old it was said by …
Essay: Evolution & theology
Summary
—by Asa Gray EVOLUTION AND THEOLOGY The Nation, January 15, 1874 The attitude of theologians toward doctrines of evolution, from the nebular hypothesis down to ‘Darwinism,’ is no less worthy of consideration, and hardly less diverse, than that of…
Matches: 13 hits
- … EVOLUTION AND THEOLOGY The Nation, January 15, 1874 The attitude of theologians toward …
- … consequently he feels the full force of an array of facts in nature, and of the natural inferences …
- … intent; and that, as respects the test question of design in Nature, his view may be made clear to …
- … series of such in time, and diversified in the course of Nature–grown up, so to say, step by step? …
- … contained in the admission that there is a system of Nature with fixed laws. This, at least, we may …
- … beside the point for Dr. Hodge to object that, ‘from the nature of the case, what concerns the …
- … that ‘science has to do with the facts and laws of Nature: here the question concerns the origin of …
- … forms on the earth is or is not among the facts and laws of Nature, is the very matter in …
- … beginning with the personality of Deity as revealed in Nature, the spiritual nature and attributes …
- … relations of theology to science, man, and his place in Nature; and ending with a discussion of …
- … its confidence in religious truth, as taught both in Nature and revelation, complete; the …
- … can make no difference, so far as the argument of design in Nature is concerned, whether there be …
- … trifling with the words of Scripture and the teachings of Nature. They seem to me almost irreverent, …
Animals, ethics, and the progress of science
Summary
Darwin’s view on the kinship between humans and animals had important ethical implications. In Descent, he argued that some animals exhibited moral behaviour and had evolved mental powers analogous to conscience. He gave examples of cooperation, even…
Matches: 4 hits
- … experiment as an illustration of its tender and sympathetic nature: ‘everyone has heard of the dog …
- … Darwin was taken aback, and swiftly replied in a letter to Nature , insisting that he had never …
- … for his ‘ingenuity and perseverance’ ( letter to Nature , [before 27 April 1871] ). When Galton …
- … can be chloroformed (letter to G. J. Romanes, 27 December 1874 ). In the previous sections …
3.16 Oscar Rejlander, photos
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s plans for the illustration of his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) led him to the Swedish-born painter and photographer, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. Rejlander gave Darwin the notes that he had…
4.16 Joseph Simms, physiognomy
Summary
< Back to Introduction In September 1874, the American doctor Joseph Simms, then on a three-year lecture tour of Britain, sent Darwin a copy of his book, Nature’s Revelations of Character; Or, Physiognomy Illustrated. He was seeking a public…
Matches: 4 hits
- … < Back to Introduction In September 1874, the American doctor Joseph Simms, then on a …
- … was himself mentioned in it. In the many editions of Nature’s Revelations , there was indeed a …
- … Review , 99:198 (Sept. 1856), pp. 452-491. Joseph Simms, Nature’s Revelations of Character; Or, …
- … [1861] (DCP-LETT-3256]. Simms’s letter to Darwin, 14 Sept. 1874 (DCP-LETT-9637; from DAR 177:164). …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 5 hits
- … 9426 - Story-Maskelyne , T. M. to Darwin, [23 April 1874] Thereza Story-Maskelyne …
- … Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] Theodosia Marshall sends …
- … 9606 - Harrison, L. C. to Darwin, [22 August 1874] Darwin’s niece, Lucy, sends a …
- … Letter 9616 - Marshall, T. to Darwin, [September 1874] Theodosia Marshall details …
- … Letter 9485 - Treat, M. to Darwin, [8 June 1874] Mary Treat details her experiments …
2.6 Adolf von Hildebrand bust
Summary
< Back to Introduction In 1873, the German biologist Anton Dohrn commissioned a plaster bust of Darwin for the ‘fresco room’ of his new research centre, the Stazione Zoologica in Naples. It was a fitting memorial of a long association between the two…
Matches: 5 hits
- … articles and reports on the progress of the project in Nature, and his speech at the official …
- … Anton Dohrn, ‘The foundation of zoological stations’, Nature 5 (8 Feb. 1872), pp. 277–280, and …
- … . . . promoting the Foundation of Zoological Stations’, Nature 6 (29 August 1872), pp. 362–363. …
- … of £100, with another £20 from his sons, 7 March 1874: DCP-LETT-9338, and Dohrn’s grateful …
- … ‘Inauguration of the Zoological Station of Naples’, Nature 12 (6 May 1875), pp. 11–13. Dohrn, …
4.18 'Figaro' chromolithograph 1
Summary
< Back to Introduction In a cartoon of 1874 by Figaro’s French-born artist Faustin Betbeder (known as Faustin), Darwin holds up a mirror reflecting himself and the startled ape sitting beside him. Their hairy bodies, seen against a background of palm…
Matches: 7 hits
- … < Back to Introduction In a cartoon of 1874 by Figaro’ s French-born artist Faustin …
- … and monkey are drawn with resemblances that do not exist in nature’, but ‘it was impossible for the …
- … this anti-Darwinian argument – a surprising one for 1874 – was genuine or tongue-in-cheek, it is …
- … appeared on the front page of the issue for 18 February 1874, surrounded by an elaborate wood …
- … The caricature of Darwin was not included until the May 1874 issue of the Sketch-Book (vol. 1, …
- … at bottom left. date of creation February 1874 computer-readable date c. …
- … of the Huntington Library. Figaro no. 475 (18 February 1874), cover illustration. James G. …
Cross and self fertilisation
Summary
The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom, published on 10 November 1876, was the result of a decade-long project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors…
Matches: 7 hits
- … project to provide evidence for Darwin’s belief that ‘‘Nature thus tells us, in the most emphatic …
- … ). In September, Darwin wrote a long letter to Nature commenting on a seemingly unrelated …
- … exposed to slightly different conditions of life’ ( To Nature , 20 September [1873] ). Just as …
- … ( To Fritz Müller, 25 September 1873 ). But by March 1874, some doubts seemed to have arisen when …
- … with new & related matter. ( To J. V. Carus, 19 March [1874] ). A year later, Darwin still …
- … by other plants with which they grow mingled in a state of nature’ ( To J. H. Gilbert, 16 February …
- … your Cross & Self Fertilization & about to review it for “Nature”— he gloats over it' ( …
Darwin as mentor
Summary
Darwin provided advice, encouragement and praise to his fellow scientific 'labourers' of both sexes. Selected letters Letter 2234 - Darwin to Unidentified, [5 March 1858] Darwin advises that Professor C. P. Smyth’s observations are not…
Dramatisation script
Summary
Re: Design – Adaptation of the Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Asa Gray and others… by Craig Baxter – as performed 25 March 2007
Matches: 14 hits
- … opposed to this, said he did not believe it, for ‘Nature never lied’. I am just in this predicament …
- … from imperfect or conjectural data, confident that he reads Nature through and through, and without …
- … therefore they ought, if they behaved properly – and as ‘nature does not lie’ – to go together. …
- … had shown me several of your letters (not of a private nature) and these gave me the warmest feeling …
- … There is a moral or metaphysical part of nature as well as a physical. A man who denies this is deep …
- … grade must ensue, which… may be likened to the conflict in Nature among races in the struggle for …
- … a public statement. GRAY: 89 Organic Nature abounds with unmistakable and …
- … contented to view this wonderful universe and especially the nature of man, and to conclude that …
- … 100 It is very easy to assume that, because events in Nature are in one sense accidental, and …
- … 102 So long as gradatory, orderly, and adapted forms in Nature argue design – and at least while …
- … ordained. 183 The old argument of design in nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed …
- … operation of, an intelligent First Cause. The Ordainer of Nature. Darwin and Gray have for …
- … horrid scare 10 days ago, in the form of a Telegram from ‘Nature’ to the effect that Asa Gray was …
- … A GRAY 3 AUGUST 1871 201 TO A GRAY 3 JUNE [1874] 202 FROM A GRAY 16 …
Darwin’s reading notebooks
Summary
In April 1838, Darwin began recording the titles of books he had read and the books he wished to read in Notebook C (Notebooks, pp. 319–28). In 1839, these lists were copied and continued in separate notebooks. The first of these reading notebooks (DAR 119…
Matches: 28 hits
- … 1838] Atlas de la Geographie des trois Regnes de la nature. Paris. 6: folio par Céran de …
- … 1840] [DAR *119: 13] Tucker’s light of Nature [Tucker 1768–78] Johnson …
- … 1834] recommended by Sir. J. Mackintosh J. Long Moral Nature of Man [Long 1747] Novum Organum …
- … [Morton 1839] (Preface) Royal Soc. Aspects of Nature Humboldt [A. von Humboldt 1849]— (d[itt …
- … History of Brazil [R. Southey 1810–19]. Aspects of Nature. Humboldt [A. von Humboldt 1849]. …
- … Lardners 2 nd vol March 16 Gardner’s Music of nature [Gardiner 1832] Life of Haydn …
- … increase of Hab. earth [Linnaeus 1781a]. Wilcke on Police of Nature [Wilcke 1781]. Hoffberg on …
- … May 7 th Skimmed a little of Tucker’s light of nature [Tucker 1768–78]. intolerably prolix …
- … on Travel [Linnaeus 1759]. Biberg on œconomy of nature [Biberg 1759]. Barck on foliation of …
- … 1805] very poor. 20 th Botanic Garden & Temple of Nature [E. Darwin] 1789–91 and 1803] …
- … (d[itt]o) 20 th Reflections on the Study of Nature by Linnæus. (translated) [Linnaeus 1785 …
- … All. Very little —— 29. Humboldt Tableau de la Nature [A. von Humboldt 1808] —— …
- … references to Domestic Birds &c read Belon Hist de la nature des Oiseaux 1555 [Belon 1555 …
- … 2] 1852. Feb. 24 th . Humboldts Aspects of Nature [A. von Humboldt 1849].— …
- … [G. Head 1837] good —— 11. Oersted’s Soul of Nature [Ørsted 1847] (dreadful) —— 24 th …
- … [F. B. Head 1852a]. Aug. 4 th Martineau: Man’s Nature & Development [Atkinson and …
- … Martineau, Harriet. 1851. Letters on the law of man’s nature and development . Edited by Harriet …
- … design . (Bridgewater Treatise no. 4.) London. [9th ed. (1874) in Darwin Library.] 119: 5a …
- … 12v. Belon, Pierre. 1555. L’histoire de la nature des oyseaux avec leurs descriptions …
- … 119: 4a Biberg, Isaac. 1759. The œconomy of nature. In Stillingfleet, Benjamin, ed., …
- … 1853. Reflections on the phenomenon of rejuvenescence in nature, especially in the life and …
- … natural and revealed, to the constitution and course of nature . London. [Other eds.] *119: …
- … Atlas de la géographie des trois règnes de la nature. Distribution des animaux, des végétaux …
- … Library.] 119: 7a ——. 1803. The temple of nature; or, the origin of society: a poem …
- … Remarks on the influence of climate, situation, nature of country, population, nature of …
- … 128: 11 Gardiner, William. 1832. The music of nature; or, an attempt to prove that …
- … of East Tartary traced through the three kingdoms of nature. Published at Petersburgh … and …
- … 16 Humboldt, Alexander von. 1808. Tableaux de la nature; ou, considérations sur les …
Before Origin: the ‘big book’
Summary
Darwin began ‘sorting notes for Species Theory’ on 9 September 1854, the very day he concluded his eight-year study of barnacles (Darwin's Journal). He had long considered the question of species. In 1842, he outlined a theory of transmutation in a…
Matches: 4 hits
- … from which he could clearly see ‘ the means used by nature to change her species & adapt them …
- … existence, and a tiny arena for exhibiting competition in nature. Darwin’s combination of this very …
- … and plants, and on the origin of species in a state of nature. I have to discuss every branch of …
- … volume ‘ on the variation of species in a state of nature. ’ Instead, Darwin simply raided his …
Darwin in letters, 1876: In the midst of life
Summary
1876 was the year in which the Darwins became grandparents for the first time. And tragically lost their daughter-in-law, Amy, who died just days after her son's birth. All the letters from 1876 are now published in volume 24 of The Correspondence…
Matches: 7 hits
- … anatomist St George Jackson Mivart in his Lessons from nature that Darwin had ‘at first …
- … Mivart made a slanderous attack on George Darwin in late 1874 in an anonymous article, which …
- … Wallace for his critical review of Mivart’s Lessons from nature . ... supporting friends …
- … translation in 1876. ‘What is more to be wondered at—Nature in all her contrivances,—or man’s mind, …
- … ants that inhabited the trunk that he sent the letter to Nature for publication. ‘It seemed to …
- … Darwin communicated this information in an article in Nature ( letter from Johann von Fischer, …
- … for an article on the snail’s heart and a letter to Nature on the use of the chemical …
Francis Galton
Summary
Galton was a naturalist, statistician, and evolutionary theorist. He was a second cousin of Darwin’s, having descended from his grandfather, Erasmus. Born in Birmingham in 1822, Galton studied medicine at King’s College, London, and also read mathematics…
Descent
Summary
There are more than five hundred letters associated with the research and writing of Darwin’s book, Descent of man and selection in relation to sex (Descent). They trace not only the tortuous route to eventual publication, but the development of Darwin’s…
